


Daddy Issues

by bayoublackjack



Series: Love in London [31]
Category: Royal Pains
Genre: F/M, Meet the Family, POV Divya Katdare, Relationship Problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 13:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3611571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bayoublackjack/pseuds/bayoublackjack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Divya invites her parents to meet Rafa, questions about the future that reveal a difference in opinion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Daddy Issues

Divya wasn’t the type to avoid things for the hell of it, though recent behaviour would probably indicate otherwise.  Still she found herself in the unique position of wanting to run.

“Are you ill?” Jeremiah asked.

“In a manner of speaking,” she replied.  “I think it’s the stress.”

“Did you change your mind?”

“No,” Divya said resolutely.  “I  _need_ to do this.”

Jeremiah nodded.  “They’re waiting.”

Divya took a calming breath and took Jeremiah’s hand for support.  “Alright,” she said as she rose to her feet.  “Let’s do this.”

Jeremiah stared at their hands for a brief moment before moving with her.  “Your parents are in the library,” he told her when they reached the ground floor.  “Rafa is in the kitchen.  I’ll bring him in when I bring the tea.”

“Thank you, Jeremiah,” she said gratefully and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth.  “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“I’ll get the tea,” Jeremiah answered in a quick and awkward manner before extracting himself from the situation.

Divya didn’t have time to question it.  She had bigger problems to worry about.  Her brunch with the girls had convinced her of what she needed to do.  She had already confessed to Rafa about her relationship with Jeremiah, but she had yet to tell her partners the truth.  She only hoped that a secret son-in-law and an impending grandchild would soften the blow.

Taking another moment to brace herself, Divya stepped into the library with false confidence.  “Mum.  Dad.  Sorry I kept you waiting so long.  Are you both well?”

“Of course, Divya,” Rubina said, greeting her daughter with kisses to both cheeks.  “What about you?”

“Your mother is right,” Devesh chimed in.  “Is something wrong?  You called us here so suddenly.”

Divya nodded slowly.  “Yes, I did,” she acknowledged.  “But it’s only because I have some news for you.”

Devesh stared at her.  “News?  What sort of news?”

Divya cleared her throat and clasped her hands together.  “Well…”

“Divya,” Rubina began with eyes focused on her daughter’s hands.  “What is that on your finger?”

“Finger?”  Devesh looked down as well.

“That’s what I needed to tell you actually,” Divya confessed with a tense smile, lifting a hand to show off her wedding ring.  “I got married.”

“Married?” Devesh repeated in shock.

Rubina wore an expression of disappointment.  “You and Jeremiah got married without us?  Without your family?”

“Well…that’s  _half_ right,” Divya replied.  She took a deep breath.  “Jeremiah,” she called out to him in the kitchen.  “Could you come with the tea now?”

“We don’t want tea,” Devesh admonished.  “We want answers.”

Divya nodded obediently.  “And you’ll have them as soon as the tea gets here,” she promised.  The tea arrived a short while later, but it wasn’t carried in by Jeremiah.  Divya met Rafa’s arrival with a warm smile.  “Mum.  Dad.  I’d like you to meet Rafa Correia…my husband.”

Devesh’s eyes went wide.  “You’re what?” he demanded.

Rubina shook her head in confusion.  “I don’t understand.  What about Jeremiah?”

“Please,” Divya gestured for them both to seat.  She took a moment to serve them both some tea before she and Rafa settled down across from them.  “I have a confession to make,” she began after a nervous sip from her own tea.  “Jeremiah and I were never really engaged.”

“What?” her parents reacted in unison.

“I lied to you both and I am sorry about that,” she continued apologetically. 

“Divya,” Rubina spoke gently.  “Why would you do such a thing?”

“It’s just that when you overheard my conversation about moving in with Jeremiah, I panicked.  I didn’t want to disappoint you both so I came up with a story about being engaged and I convinced Jeremiah to go along with it.”

“Why would you have to pretend with Jeremiah if you had this young man here?” Devesh questioned, keeping a watchful eye on Rafa.

“Actually…”  Divya let out a breathy chuckle.  “Rafa and I only met after that.  A couple of months ago.”

“And you married so soon?”  Rubina asked.

Devesh scoffed.  “If you wanted to marry a stranger, we could have arranged someone suitable,” he muttered into his cup.

“Rafa isn’t a stranger,” Divya insisted.  She looked at him and laced her fingers with his.  He responded with a loving smile.  “I love him and…we’re going to have a baby.”

Devesh nearly choked on his tea.   “Baby?”

Rubina held a hand to her chest.  “You’re pregnant?”  Divya nodded slowly.  Rubina lifted her hand to her mouth and sniffed quietly.  “My baby is having a baby,” she marvelled.

“And every cloud has a silver lining,” Devesh commented a bit more optimistically.  He looked at his ex-wife.  “I told you it was smart to keep the house here, Rubina.  It’ll get plenty of use once our grandchild is born.”

“Maybe on occasion,” Rafa spoke for the first time since joining them.  “During the off-season of course, but after baby is born, we’ll be moving to Argentina.”

The look of shock on Divya’s parents’ family was only eclipsed by her own.  “What?” she questioned.  “We never discussed that.”

“No, but I thought it would be obvious,” Rafa replied.  “My life is there and there will be plenty of room on the estate for both your family and my own.  And our child with have a chance to grow up with my son.”

“Son?”  Devesh and Rubina were quick to latch onto that unexpected nugget of information, but Divya had other arguments to make.

“I understand that it would be convenient for you, but it wouldn’t be for me,” Divya pointed out.  “My life is here in London.  My friends.  My work.  I didn’t work as hard as I did to get where I am just to throw it all away on a whim.”

“Whim?”  Rafa repeated.  “Divya we’re married.  Relationships are about compromise.”

“So why am I the one having to sacrifice?” Divya protested.

“I thought this is what you wanted.”

Divya sighed softly, suddenly feeling confused about the entire situation.  Maybe her friends were right.  Maybe she had been too impulsive.  She loved Rafa and she was happy to be having his baby, but is this the life she really wanted?  “I thought I did too,” she answered with reservation.  Now, however, she wasn’t so sure anymore.


End file.
